Rise in the West
by CatMaz
Summary: First fanfic, has OCs. Tony Pier is just your average demigod from the Apollo Cabin. But when Apollo is captured by an unknown enemy, his whole life changes. Will he save Apollo? Or is the whole world doomed to darkness? No pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: I Get a Quest-Finally**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

**A/N: This is my first story. Hopefully it isn't too bad. The main character is an OC. Please read and review. Tell me if my writing is any good.**

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Tony's POV

_It was dark. Really dark. I turned in a full circle, trying to see where I was. Nothing. I just couldn't see. The sound of monsters scrambling around sent chills up my spin. What the heck was going on?_

_"Hurry, Tony," a voice said. I jumped and turned my head side to side. The voice didn't seem to have a point of origin._

_"Hurry," it repeated. "Or else this shall be your future." "What? What's going on?" I burst out. "I have to go. Please, Tony. Hurry," he (it sounded male) said. Silence. "Wait! Come back!" But it was too late._

_The darkness seemed to grow. It felt like invisible walls were squashing me. I couldn't take it anymore. I was going to die. I was going to-_

My eyes snapped open and a gasp escaped my lips. I looked around to see not darkness, but Cabin 7 and all of its occupants.

I let out a sigh of relief. It was just a dream. Wow. Some dream. More like a nightmare, I suppose. I don't think I've ever had a one like that. The last dream I could remember was my father taunting Artemis with some poetry.

Lying back down on my bunk, I stared at the ceiling. What did my dream mean? Was that really my future?

My name is Anthony Pier. But everyone calls me Tony. Anthony is way too long-it's like 3 syllables; Tony's only 2. In some weird way, I guess my _real_ name would be Anatolios. It means sunrise in Greek I think. Apparently that's what my mom was thinking when she named me Anthony. You know, Anatolios, Anthony. Just don't ask.

I'm 16, soon to be 17. I came to Camp Half-Blood when I was 9. It was right after my mom died in the car crash.

I'm the son (one of the sons) of Apollo. Things about me? I'm _very_ musically inclined, I hate poems (bit of a surprise), bow and arrows is always the way to go with me, and I like to draw. One more thing: I'm scared of the dark. I guess that should be expected, Apollo being the god of the sun and all.

I've got brown eyes. My hair is dirty blonde, but you can barely tell it's blonde most times.

So, that's enough about me. On with the story.

After my dream last night, I was a little on edge. Being afraid of the dark made it even worse. Dang it, being afraid of the dark really sucks. And it was weirder than usual. Every shadow made my jump. Yeah. I must have been the worst demigod ever.

"Hey, Tony! How's it going?" Will Solace said, walking up to me. "Hm? Oh. It's…uh…I'm OK," I said. Stupid. I didn't really have a way with words if I wasn't singing. When I sang, everything flowed together and was perfect. Not when I was talking normally. Maybe I should just rap instead of talk. "Oh. That's…good, I guess," Will said. He didn't continue, just walked away.

No one bothered me at all as I wandered the campgrounds. There was going to be a game of Capture the Flag tonight. Campers vs. Artemis' Hunters. I hoped that I wouldn't ruin our chances of winning.

I trudged past Chiron, who was overlooking a training session. "Hello, Tony," he said. "Hi," I replied. "You look up set. Is something wrong?" he asked. Leave it to Chiron to pressure me with questions.

"Well, no-sort of…not really…I don't know," I stumbled over my words. "What is it?" Chiron asked. I shrugged. "I just had a…weird dream. It-it's not a big deal, though," I said.

Chiron gave me a curious look. "If you say so. Just make sure you're ready for capture the flag tonight," he said. I nodded and ran off. That guy-er, centaur- seemed to know everything! No point in lying to him.

I didn't feel like training, so I sat down under a tree. Pulling out my sketchpad and a pencil, I began to draw.

After a while, I looked up. With a start, I realized that I must have moved because I wasn't under the same tree. I sat at the edge of the woods. Sometimes I do this. It's kind of like sleepwalking, but it happens when I'm drawing instead. Once I ended up in the girls' bathroom-don't ask what happened from there, you don't want to know.

I stared at the shadows, made by the trees and who knows what else. It would be really dark tonight. Great. I had a feeling that I was going to screw everything up. Let's just hope the feeling was wrong.

I pulled on my helmet. Capture the Flag was about to begin. Everyone was talking excitedly about battle strategy. I'd never be able to come up with a good enough strategy to use.

"You ready?" someone asked me. I turned around and saw Will, with Lee Fletcher not to far behind him. "I guess so…I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I said. "Good," Lee said. "Any plan?" I asked. "Get their flag. Don't let them get ours," he said. "Oh," I sighed. We didn't really have a plan.

In the end, I ended up standing around at the edge of our border. I was supposed to keep Hunters from getting in. As if I'd ever be able to stop _one_.

It had been what seemed like forever, and no one had come by me. Apprehensive about the shadows I edged closer in the direction of some torchlight. But it still wasn't enough.

I would probably have run off if it weren't for the sound a twig snapping. I looked around, trying to see who had stepped on the twig. I was definitely not expecting what I saw next.

The Oracle was walking towards me. The Oracle! Walking! How it was even possible, I did not know. I had no idea what to do. She just kept approaching me.

"Uh…is there something you want…?" I asked. The Oracle stopped. Dead eyes stared at me. It felt like she was looking at my soul. Ew. Creepy!

_'I am the spirit of Delphi. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python,'_ she said. Well, I guess she thought it. She seemed to be talking in my head, not out loud. _'Approach, Seeker, and ask.'_

Ask? Ask what? I wasn't the type of person who got quests and things. Sometimes I helped decipher them-I'm a child of Apollo, so that type of thing is easier for me. And last time I checked, the Oracle didn't walk around and give you quests at random-she waited for you to come and ask her your question.

I scratched the back of my head. "I, uh, I think you have the wrong person. I don't…I don't have any questions to ask you." On second thought, I could always ask about my dream… "Actually, maybe I do have one… Um, any question pertaining to the dream I had last night would be nice," I decided.

It was good enough of an answer to the Oracle, because she reacted. She opened her mouth and a green mist began to pour out, covering the surrounding area. A guy somewhere between the ages of 17 and 18 appeared in the mist. He looked beat up, like someone had gotten annoyed with him and decided to try out some new "toys". Yet he still stood there defiantly. I got a good look at his face and gasped. It was Apollo! My dad! Wait a minute…was he the one who spoke in my dream?!

The Oracle began to speak:

_The sun shall rise in the west,_

_To go complete the three tests,_

_Take back what has been stolen,_

_For he has been chosen,_

_Without the light that extinguishes never,_

_Darkness shall engulf us forever._

The Oracle closed her mouth and the mist disappeared. Apollo was gone too. The Oracle walked past me, deeper into the woods. She was probably heading to where the flag was.

I stood there in shock. That was definitely a prophecy. So…did that mean I just got my first quest?

In the distance, I heard Chiron announce the victory of the Hunters. "The Hunters win!" I turned and followed the Oracle to where I everyone else had gathered.

I managed to slide into the crowd just as the Oracle was spotted. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So exciting. She had just given me a quest! I had to tell Chiron! But noooo. Everyone was too scared of the Oracle. Please. I was over it.

_'I am the spirit of Delphi. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, Seeker, and ask,'_ she repeated. Zoë Nightshade asked the question. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The second prophecy of the night was given:

_Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

_The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

_And one shall perish by a parent's hand._

I realized something immediately. Both my prophecy and Zoë's told us to go west. Were they connected? Well, Apollo and Artemis were twins…but I had a feeling that my quest was completely different.

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**So there's the first chapter. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. Remember, please read and review. It would really help me out.**

**Thanks!**

**~CatMaz~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: I Ruin a Perfectly Good Art Show**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

**A/N: Here's the second chapter! Please read and review, it will help me a lot.**

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Tony's POV

Capture the Flag had quickly been disbanded. Percy and Grover had gone to put the Oracle back in the attic. Some of the head counselors had been called to the Big House to discuss the prophecy. My prophecy? No. The other one. But I had to talk to Chiron-now!

My dream and prophecy were both connected. My dad was in trouble and I knew it! I had to help him!

Now, most demigods didn't like their godly parents. They felt they had been abandoned by them, unwanted. But I liked my dad. I tell myself everyday that he had a reason to leave. He'd been kind enough to claim me almost as soon as I got to Camp Half-Blood.

"Lee! Lee!" I exclaimed, looking for my head counselor. "Tony? What is it?" he asked. "I need to talk to Chiron! Is he in the Big House?" I asked. "Yeah. But there's a meeting going on in there," he said. "OK! Thanks!" I yelled, running towards the Big House.

Two Hunters stood at the Big House doors. "You can't go in," the first one said when I tried to walk past them. "It's an emergency!" I said. "They're discussing the prophecy. Nothing can be more urgent than that. You have to wait," the second said. "But-" I began. The Hunters glared at me. Decided it was useless, I walked away, sitting in front of the camp fire.

Knowing that this might take a while, I began to decipher the prophecy on my own.

'_The sun shall rise in the west.'_ The sun doesn't rise in the west, it rises in the east. Hm…tricky, but not tricky enough to stump me. Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I can tell what the meaning of prophecies are easily. My name. Anatolios means sunrise. I was to go west.

_'To go complete the three tests.'_ That obviously meant there would be three challenges I would face throughout the course of my quest. They could be anything: fighting monsters, going through a maze, finding certain items, things like that.

_'Take back what has been stolen.'_ By the look of things, I'd say it was Apollo who had been stolen. Someone-or some_thing_-had captured my dad. I had to rescue him I supposed.

_'For he has been chosen.'_ That part right there could mean two things. The first, is that it could be referencing me again. It might be saying that I had been chosen to go save Apollo. I guess that's true, otherwise the Oracle wouldn't have come to me. The second, is that it could be talking about Apollo himself. It might mean that he was chosen to be captured for some reason unknown to me.

_'Without the light that extinguishes never.'_ Apollo was the light. He's the sun god.

_'Darkness shall engulf us forever.'_ That had to be paired with the line before it. _'Without the light that extinguishes never, Darkness shall engulf us forever.'_ That didn't sound pleasant. So…if I didn't save Apollo, then we'd all be trapped in eternal darkness? Was that what that meant? I made a mental note to ask Chiron.

Something hit me like a ton of bricks. I hadn't stuttered or paused once when talking to Lee or the Hunters. Mental note two, tell Chiron about that also.

Finally the doors to the Big House opened. Percy, Thalia, Grover, Beckendorf, Selena, the Stolls, Zoë, and Bianca filed out. Chiron and Mr. D came out last.

"Chiron!" I called, running over to him. "Not now, Tony. I must discuss something with Mr. D, here," Chiron said. "But this is urgent," I pleaded.

Mr. D looked ticked. "Run along. Go, write a poem or something," he said. Why wouldn't they listen?! I trudged away.

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I stood on the hill and looked down at the camp, bag slung over my soldier. I had "borrowed" a bow and a set of arrows from the training arena. Chiron had been too busy to talk to me today. But after the dream I'd had, I knew I couldn't wait.

_It had been dark again. I still couldn't see. "Hurry, Tony," the voice said again. "Dad?" I asked the darkness. "It's coming. You have to stop him," Apollo said. "Why? Why are both you and Artemis captured? What's going on?" I asked._

_ Darkness closed in around me again. "Dad!" I exclaimed. "Hurry, Tony. There isn't much time. Brooklyn," Apollo said._

I didn't know what I was up against. It could be anything. But something told me that if I didn't save my dad in time…I probably wouldn't live long enough to tell the tale of my failure.

I marched down the hill towards the road. I had to go west. I the dream, Apollo had said 'Brooklyn'. I, in turn, decided to take that as a clue and head there. Brooklyn was west of here so it fit the description.

Now, you may be asking yourselves, how am I going to get to Brooklyn? It's not like I can just steal a pegasus and not be noticed. Well, the Gray Sisters seemed like a nice bet. Pulling out a Golden Drachma, I looked at the road. No one had come by yet. I tossed the drachma onto the road and waited. It sank into the ground easily.

In a flash, a taxi appeared out of nowhere. The door opened. Giving one last look to Camp Half-Blood I climbed into the back seat.

"Where to?" one of the sisters asked. "Brooklyn," I said. The Gray Sisters were creepier than I originally thought. "Gimme the eye! I gotta drive," the first one said, flinging her hand at the second. "Ah! Get your own!" the second yelled. The third tossed a tooth up and down in the air.

I put my head on my hand and waited for their little skirmish to end. Eventually, the first sister got the eye and began to drive. I gripped the sides of my seat as we whizzed through roads.

The taxi screeched to a stop. "Brooklyn," the third sister said. The door opened and I was pushed out in a flurry of hands. Before I knew it, the taxi was gone.

"OK. Brooklyn…Brooklyn…What's so special about this place anyway?" I asked myself. A few people stared at me. I wondered what the mist made them see instead my bow and arrows.

"Hey! Are you lost or something?" a boy who looked about 10 with a heavy Brooklyn accent asked me. "Um…" was all I could say. How was I supposed to react?

"Well, are you looking for the art show? You got some art supplies with you," he said. Art supplies? Oh. That must be what the mist was making him see instead of the bow and arrows.

"Uh, yeah! I'm looking for…the art show. Can you give me directions?" I asked. "Sure. Just follow me," he said. A part of me said not to follow him. But I had no other leads, so I might as well try this art show thing.

I almost lost the boy once or twice in the large crowds of people. I was surprised by this, since it was still morning. "This way!" he kept calling to me. I hurried my pace.

All of a sudden, the boy skidded to a stop. I looked up and saw a huge banner waving in front of a park. And sure enough, it said 'BROOKLYN ART SHOW' on it.

"Thanks for your help," I thanked the boy. "It was nothing. By the way, tell your dad I said hi when you find him," he said. "OK. Wait…how do you know about my dad? Who are you?" I asked. But the boy had disappeared. Maybe he was a monster. But if he was, I'd probably be dead already. Weird. Before someone else could approach me, I hurried into the art show.

I'll tell you this. This was heaven for any artist. Vibrant colors sparkled everywhere. Paintings, sculptures-every known type of art was here. There were competitions for the best of the best.

"Excuse me. Sorry. I'll pay for that. Out of the way! Coming through." As you can tell, it was crowded. Almost as bad as the streets.

I tried to find some sort of clue as to why I was here. That boy-if he even was a boy-had lead me here for a reason. I just had to look…

…Or listen. "Poetry! Limericks, haikus, any type of poetry you could think of! Personalize your own for $6!" someone called out. There. Apollo was the god of many things-and poetry was one of them. I hurried towards the voice.

A woman with brown hair tied back in a bun stood in a convention stand. It looked like ink was splattered on her hands from writing with a leaky pen. Scrolls hung on the inside of the walls. Pens and pencils were in cups on a table.

"I heard you say you sold poems," I said. The woman looked at me. With a jolt, I realized how depressed her eyes were. They were tinted red, like she had been crying. "Yes. I sell poems. Would you like one?" she asked in a silky voice. "Sure," I said. I was no good at writing poems, but it didn't mean I didn't like them.

The woman picked up paper and a pen. "Is there anything in particular you want me to write about? Is there a certain type of poem you want?" she asked. "Surprise me," I told her. With a simple nod, she began to write.

I tapped my fingers on the table in front of me. I felt a little awkward just standing here watching her write. "So…do you like writing poems?" I asked. Looking up, the woman gave me a weird look. OK, stupid question. If she didn't like writing poems than she wouldn't be doing this at all. "They are…a way for me to express myself," she said. "Oh. That's nice," I said. Expression. That's always a good thing.

"My name is Niobe," she said. A bell went of in my head. I felt like I'd heard that name before. Niobe…where did I know it from? "I'm Tony," I said. "Tony…Anatolios I'm guessing," she said. How did she know? "Yes. But you can also say Anthony," I said. For some reason I was wary of Niobe.

"What a nice name. My sons and daughters had nice names too," Niobe said. Had? I said nothing.

"Sometimes I burn my poems," Niobe said. "That's…nice," I said. OK, the lady was beginning to creep me out. "Burning them also helps me express myself. All my sorrow. I miss my children so much," she said, putting down the pen. "It's just not fair. Apollo got to have children. A lot of children. I had 14. He just had to go and have more. Just to beat me," she said.

Niobe handed me the paper. I almost dropped the paper in surprise. This was not a poem. Nope. Not a poem at all. Written on this paper in shaky letters, were three words: 'I MISS THEM'.

"I've gotta go," I said, backing away. "All 14 are gone. I'm just returning the favor," Niobe said. I turned and ran.

Jumping through a group of teens, I looked back. I didn't see Niobe anywhere. Now I remembered where I knew her from. She was the daughter of the ruler of Tantalus. She'd had 7 sons and 7 daughters; that was 14 children in total. When Apollo and Artemis were being crowned in the annual celebration that celebrated their mother, Leto, Niobe had bragged about her children. Since she had offended their mother, Apollo and Artemis killed them, Apollo killing the 7 sons and Artemis killing the 7 daughters.

I tripped over a stray easel and fell to the ground. Niobe was on me in a flash. "Didn't you turn into a rock or something?" I asked. "They released me from my prison of rock. They also promised to give me back my children. For every child of Apollo I kill, another one of my own is returned to me. Eventually, I'll have them all back, even my husband!" Niobe told me, brandishing a sharp knife. Who were _'they'_?

"What do you mean by _'they'_?" I asked. "You can't trick me into telling you," she said. It was worth a try. The knife was lowered down to my throat. "It's impossible for them to bring your children back! You can't possibly believe them!" I exclaimed. "You lie! They will bring my children back to me!" Niobe said desperately. "Oh yeah? Tell me how they plan to cheat Hades!" I exclaimed. Niobe made a choking noise.

While she was distracted, I rolled away from her. "Hey!" she yelled. I had no idea what the mist was doing because the mortals weren't reacting at all. Maybe they couldn't see us. Diving through the legs of a particularly tall man, I tried my best to get as far away as possible.

_Shink!_ Niobe's knife flew past me. Thank the gods that she missed. I pulled my bow of my back. I reached for an arrow but just grabbed air. In my scramble with Niobe, I'd dropped my arrows! "You can't run forever, son of Apollo! My love of my children drives me!" Niobe screamed.

Think! Think! Niobe was right, I couldn't run forever. I was a demigod, so I had _some_ fighting instinct. The knife! I crawled through the crowd and reached out for the knife. I pulled as hard as I could to get it out of the stand it was stuck in.

"You know what? Anatolios sounds like Anatolia. My father's city was located in the western part of it," Niobe said, approaching me. _Pop!_ The knife came out of the stand. I turned around and stood up.

"Hand me the knife and your death will be quick," Niobe said, out stretching her hand. I positioned the knife in my bow. It was a little short, but it would do.

"Sorry, Niobe. But there would have been no way for you to get your children back," I said, aiming the bow. "No! They promised!" she exclaimed. "And you believed them?" I asked, letting go of the bowstring.

Bulls eye. Niobe fell to her knees, gasping for air. I thought she would just roll over and die. But the daughter of Tantalus and mother of 14 children wasn't done yet. She whispered the last line of the prophecy, barely audible to my ears. "_Darkness shall engulf us forever_," she whispered. Those were the last words Niobe spoke.

Someone screamed. "She's dead!" Time to bolt. Grabbing my fallen arrows, I ran out of the Brooklyn Art Show.

Sirens could be heard echoing throughout all of Brooklyn. Maybe I'm hallucinating, but I thought I saw the boy from earlier watching me.

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**I hope this chapter was OK. Please review, tell me if this story is good or not.**

**Thanks!**

**~CatMaz~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: I Meet a GPS Named Gallagher**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

**A/N: Chapter 3. I'm doing my best to give you guys a good story. Please read and review so you can tell me how it is. It would really help me out.**

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Tony's POV

I stopped to catch my breath in a restaurant. "Um, can I get a water?" I asked the waitress. "Sure thing, hon. You want lemon in it?" she asked. "No thanks," I said. She nodded and walked away to get my drink.

As I shifted in my seat to get a better view out the window something clinked in my pocket. Tilting my head to the side a bit, I pulled whatever it was out. It was the paper Niobe had written on. But…paper doesn't make a clinking sound.

I unfolded the paper and something came tumbling out. Car keys. "That's new," I murmured to myself. Niobe hadn't given me keys, just some creepy, demented message. The ring holding the keys had a Lego Superman on it.

"Here's your water, hon," the waitress said, holding a tray with a glass on it. "Thanks," I said as I paid for the water.

Sipping the water, I traced my finger over the security button. Maybe if I pushed it…

My curiosity won and before I knew it, I was pressing the button. For a few moments, nothing happened. _Chirp, chirp!_ In a flash of blinding light, a Maserati Spyder appeared in front of the restaurant. It was red and a convertible.

"Wicked," I breathed. I quickly finished my drink and left a tip for the waitress. I walked out of the restaurant and smiled at the car. It glowed brightly. I knew how to drive and I had a license. And, if I wasn't mistaken, this belonged to Apollo. I looked at the license plate. It said _'HAIKUS4EVER'_. Yeah, it belonged to Apollo.

I opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. "OK, Tony, where too?" I asked myself. Starting the engine, I looked up at the sky. It was cloudy. Maybe Zeus was mad.

Without warning, the car lurched forward. "Hey-!" I exclaimed. Suddenly I was air born. "Oh gods! Oh gods! Oh gods!" I repeated over and over. I wasn't even controlling the thing! It was like it had a mind of it's own!

I couldn't really take in the sights-I was spazzing out the whole time. I was screaming something that sounded like this: "GHIAREJRIEHFKNDKVNFAEIOHFND!" Yeah. Just…just don't ask.

I lost track of time. Before I knew it, the car was in park in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Taking deep breaths I looked around.

I was in a forest. At night. In the dark. Perfect. Luckily, the car radiated light. But for some reason it was really weak. Probably because Apollo was in trouble.

Jumping out of the car, I walked to the trunk. Flipping it open I found a few things. A lyre, reed pipes, a notebook labeled '_My Awesome Haikus'_, a bow, arrows, a quiver, a first aid kit that had the word '_Plague_' written in black sharpie on it, and a GPS. I took the GPS and plugged it into the car.

"_Hello, Mr. Apollo. Would you like my assistance?_" it asked. Apollo had a customized GPS that talked like a human. It reminded me of JARVIS. He probably got it from Hermes.

"Uh, I'm not Apollo. My name is Tony Pier. I'm his son," I said. It felt weird talking to a GPS. "_Searching for Tony Pier. If you are not found in Mr. Apollo's records, you will be destroyed. Do you have a preference between being burned alive or death by limericks? Another death method would be playing The secret tape of Mr. Ares singing,_" the GPS said. "None of the above?" I chose. I hoped dad had recorded me in his GPS thing. If he hadn't, then I was dead.

"_You have been located in the records. Enjoy your time on the sun chariot. If you have any questions, ask me,_" the GPS finally said. I let out a sigh of relief. I was glad I didn't have to hear Ares sing.

"Where am I?" I asked. "_You are in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,_" it said. So I was further west. That was a good thing.

The best thing for me to do would be to wait until morning to check things out. The sun chariot wouldn't have taken me here if it wasn't of importance.

"So…do you have a name? Or should I just call you GPS?" I asked. "_GPS is just an acronym. It stands for Gallagher Packard Sampson. That is my name,_" GPS said. I wished I hadn't asked. "That's a…nice name," I said. "_Thank you. I like it, too,_" it said. "I'll call you Gallagher," I said.

I laid down on my seat. I'd just wait here talking to Gallagher.

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_Unlike the other two times, I could see. It was still dark, though. It was like I had night vision. Apollo leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. I wanted to call out to him, but someone else was in the room._

_"You don't actually believe your son will find you," the other _thing_ in the room said. "I _know_ he'll find me. He's smarter than you take him for," Apollo said. "Even if he did manage to get here, he'd never beat my army. Or me for that matter," it said. Apollo didn't reply._

_"Stupid gods. You think you can do whatever you want. When you finally get in trouble, you rely on your children to save you. Pitiful," it said, kicking the god with every word. Apollo fell to his knees._

_"Dad!" I gasped. The other thing in the room turned its head. I couldn't tell what it was, even though it was looking right at me._

_"Demigods," it growled. "Why do you have to see _everything_?" It waved its hand. All of a sudden it was too dark to see._

_"Hurry!"_

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**Good? Bad? Please review so I know.**

**Thanks!**

**~CatMaz~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: I Blow Up a Zombie Hospital**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

**A/N: I am so sorry for not updating! I was really busy and there just wasn't any time. Hopefully you won't have to wait that long again. If I ever take to long to update, it means I'm busy. I would never discontinue a story. Please read and review. Reviews would help me know whether or not this story was good or bad.**

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I opened my eyes. Another dream. Questions filled my mind. The main one was: who the heck was that other guy?

I sat up. The clock on Gallagher read 11:38 a.m. I must have slept in.

"Gallagher? Are you awake?" I asked. "_Last time I checked, GPS' didn't sleep,_" he said. Oh yeah. "Did anything happen while I was asleep?" I asked. "_Yes. An owl flew into the third tree to your right. Four deer ran in front of the chariot. You almost rolled off of your chair. A-_" Gallagher explained. "That's not what I meant!" I exclaimed with a face palm.

"_But you asked if-_" "Forget that! Here's a different question for you to answer. Are there any buildings nearby? Because sitting here in a forest isn't going to help me," I asked. "_There's a hospital just outside this forest. I'll show you the way,_" Gallagher said.

I grabbed the wheel. "Please do," I said. Like any normal GPS, Gallagher gave me directions on where to go. This time I could control where the car went. That's good, because I didn't need any more stress.

Parking the car in the parking lot of the hospital, I put Gallagher under my seat. "_I don't understand why I'm under here,_" he said. "I don't want anyone to steal my dad's GPS," I said simply.

I was going to take a look around the hospital for a few reasons. One, there was probably a cafeteria in it. I was starving! Two, I could get some information there. And three, I had nowhere else to go. Trust me, I wouldn't be going inside a hospital if I didn't have too. I hate them.

Hospitals always bring back bad memories of when my mom died. My mom had been the most wonderful woman in the world. Always kind and forgiving. Always there for her little boy. She'd been coming home from the store one day when it happened. Obeying the rules is what got her killed. Red light means stop and green light means go. Mom knew that. But apparently not everyone else did. Some idiot had jumped a red light, hitting my mom in the process. Her small car was no match for their giant truck. My neighbor drove me to the hospital after it happened. I watched my mom die in that hospital. I'd never gone to one since.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door.

No one was in the waiting room or behind the front desk. The front room was abandoned. Great. "Hello?" I called softly. No answer.

My footsteps echoed on the tile floor as I walked up to the front desk. After hitting the bell a few times, I gave up on trying to get someone to come over. Some exploring wouldn't hurt.

I pushed open the second set of doors. They lead too a long hallway lined with doors. The doors probably were to the rooms patients were taken too. I bet there were more hallways just like this one-the hospital was pretty big.

I opened a few doors and, still, found no one. "I feel like I'm in Ghost Busters or something," I muttered to myself. It was creepy in this place, making my view of hospitals even worse.

Turning a corner, I stopped. Someone stood at the end of this hallway. Their back was to the wall, so they were looking straight at me.

Even though I was freaking out, I knew I should say something. "Hello?" I called to them. Whoever they were began to cough a lot. There body shook from all the coughing. "Are you OK?" I asked, making my way towards them.

As I approached, I got a better look at them. He was a man who looked like he was in his thirties. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. I also saw how sick he looked. Yes, I know this is a hospital. Yes, I know hospitals are for sick people. But this guy looked _really_ sick.

His eyes were puffy and there were huge bags under them. His hair was falling out. His pus covered hands scratched at his blistered arms. He looked like a zombie!

"Oh my gods! Do you need a doctor?" I asked. "A doctor? No doctor can help us now," he rasped. I took note of how he said 'us' instead of 'me'.

"Why? What's wrong with you?" I asked. "We've been cursed with the plague! We have to rot!" he moaned. The plague! Just like with Niobe, with rang a bell. Wasn't Apollo the god of plague? It was so hard to keep track of everything he was the god of, there were so many things.

"If you have the plague shouldn't you-" The man didn't let me finish. "It's his fault! Apollo cursed us for the sins of one man! I hadn't done anything wrong. Neither had my family," he complained. I didn't know if I should run or not. This guy didn't seem to like Apollo at all.

"You reek of him! What kind of monster are you?" he asked. Time to run. I turned around and ran back down the hallway. "APOLLO! He has sent one of his demons here! APOLLO!" the man screamed. For someone with the plague, he sure was loud. Who was he calling for?

My question was soon answered. As I turned the corner I saw more people who looked like they had the plague. Insults were yelled as I ran past. "Apollo scum!" "Disgusting!" "He deserves the plague himself!" "Dirtbag!"

You know how I said it was like Ghost Busters? I take it back. It was like the Walking Dead in there! Zombies chasing me! And to top it all off, I think I turned down the wrong hallway. Yup. I was lost.

I ran into the nearest room and slammed the door shut. I pushed a table in front of it. The zombies banged and pushed on the door. The table wouldn't hold up for long and I knew it.

I knew who these people were. They were the Achaeans. Agamemnon had taken a prisoner named Criseis, who was a priestess in Apollo's cult. Criseis' father prayed to Apollo. Because Criseis was part of his cult, Apollo sent arrows of plague to the Achaeans. My guess is that they weren't too happy about it.

What was I supposed to do? I had a plague first aid kit, but it was in the car.

A sign caught my eye. It said: 'RAWR: ANIMAL'. Wait. That's wrong. Stupid dyslexia. It really said: 'WARNING: FLAMMABLE'. Let's think about this. Flammable substance + demigod = not good. Not good was exactly what I needed.

The sign was printed on a small machine sitting next to the bed. All I needed to do was get a spark going. Then bye bye zombies.

The table in front of the door slid a little. Not much time left.

I pulled out two arrows and began to rub their tips together. "Come on. Make a spark," I said. The sound of angry zombies outside my door made me work faster.

The tips sparked. "Yes!" I exclaimed. Just as I was about to touch the arrows to the flammable machine, a glint caught my eye. Taking a closer look, I saw it was a key. Not car keys like before, just one, lone key. I picked it up. The rust on the edge rubbed off on my fingers. A sun was etched into the side of it. Deciding I might need it later, I slipped it in my pocket.

_Crash!_ The table holding the door closed flung to the side. The door was thrown off it's hinges. Zombies began to flood the room.

"No hard feelings, alright?" I said, touching the arrows to the machine. I don't think zombies can read, because if they had, they would have fled the room upon seeing the 'WARNING: FLAMMABLE' sign.

Not wanting to be blown to bits, I slammed into the window. It broke upon impact and in a second I was free falling. The room I was just in exploded. There must have been one of those machines in every room. One by one the rest of them exploded.

Personally, I think I stayed fairly calm throughout my free fall. "AHHHHHH! Gallagher! Help!" I clicked the car keys over and over.

The gods must have been watching over me. Either them, or the sun chariot. I hit something. At first I thought it was the ground, but I was still alive. Blinking my eyes to clear my vision, I heard a voice. "_Was there a reason you were falling out of the hospital?_" Gallagher asked. "Yeah, Gallagher. Thanks for flying the car up here," I said. "_It's a _sun chariot_,_" Gallagher said. "Whatever," I sighed.

If Gallagher hadn't flown the car up to catch me, I would have been dead. So…a GPS saved my life.

"_Where to?_" he asked. "I'll tell you a secret, Gallagher. I have no idea," I said. The only things I'd gotten out of going to the hospital were a traumatizing experience and a key.

"_There's a gas station up ahead. Do you mind if we stop there?_" Gallagher asked. "Apollo's sun chariot needs gas?" I asked. "_No. But you can get supplies there if you want. It also makes me feels cool. Everyone there always looks over at me whispering things like 'Dude! Look how awesome that is!'_" he said. "Listen, I hate to rain on your parade, but I think they were talking about…never mind," I trailed off. Gallagher wouldn't listen to me, so why even bother?

"Let's go," I sighed. "_Yes! Personal achievement!_" Gallagher exclaimed. I face palmed.

* * *

**Please review!**

**Thanks!**

**~CatMaz~**


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